Rump Parliament

The Rump Parliament was the remnant of the Long Parliament which met from 6 December 1648 to 21 February 1660, following Pride's Purge and the expulsion of the Presbyterian and moderate MPs from Parliament by the New Model Army. The Rump Parliament was predominantly republican and Independent (Congregationalist), and it presided over the trial and execution of King Charles I of England, the abolition of the House of Lords and the monarchy, and the creation of the English Commonwealth. However, the Rump Parliament retained the corruption of the first Parliament, as its members had never been elected by the people, a large faction of the Rump Parliament sought to extend the Parliament's mandate, and a significant number of MPs sought to gain from ruling the country. In 1653, after Parliament voted to extend its mandate for another three years, the New Model Army commander-in-chief Oliver Cromwell decided to dissolve the Rump Parliament and established "the Protectorate", a military dictatorship with himself at its head. On 6 May 1659, his son and successor Richard Cromwell recalled the Rump Parliament, but, in January 1660, George Monck marched his army into London and reinstated the Presbyterians purged from Parliament in Pride's Purge, reinstating the Long Parliament with the goal of restoring the monarchy.